I’ve never been a superstitious one. In fact, it has always annoyed me that hotels and other high rise buildings in the U.S. tend to to remove the 13th floor (as if we don’t realize the 14th floor has now become the 13th floor). For a supposedly evolved species, we’re downright silly sometimes.
However, this month, the number 13 is indeed unlucky. March 13th is the effective deadline that school boards are required to give notice of potential layoffs to certificated employees. (It’s normally the 15th, but that falls on a Sunday this year). So, Friday the 13th will be a terrible day in school districts across the state. Due to the state budget crisis, school districts all over are being forced to cut back — and cut back in core areas. For more detail on our situation and the process we are going through, please read my open letter to the community on the budget process.
Last night, the School Board met, and we approved giving notices of potential layoffs to approximately two dozen employees, including K-3 teachers, counselors, literacy teachers, and others. Also, we gave notice of elimination of the positions of the two assistant principals at the middle schools (these individuals can choose to become classroom teachers if their positions are eliminated). Keep in mind, these were just the “certificated” employees that are affected by the required March 15th notice date. Other classes of employees — including music teachers, P.E. associates, librarians, custodians, secretaries, some administrative staff, and a number of others are still “at risk” but they are not required to be given notice until 45 days before termination. Articles on the meeting appeared today in the San Mateo Daily Journal and in the San Mateo Daily News.
It is our hope that, in the end, we will be able to rescind most of these layoff notices, but it would require a few things happening between now and June — the most crucial of which is the passage of the Measure B parcel tax in May.
This is obviously an extremely difficult time for everyone affected. It breaks my heart to see notices to go out to some wonderful teachers — it is incredibly stressful for them, and we all realize this is a difficult environment to look for another job. It’s my sincere hope that we can retain all of them, but I recognize that they must take whatever steps necessary to manage their own career. We definitely run the risk of losing some great folks, even if we wind up rescinding their notice.
As I mentioned in my letter, this is just one step in a long process that we need to go through to finalize the budget. I encourage to stay engaged, respect the process, and at the same time support our teachers. What you can do right now is:
- Fill out the new District survey to give input on your priorities and your opinions on potential tradeoffs. The survey will only be open until around March 13.
- Support the San Carlos Educational Foundation. Raising money is more crucial than ever (this Saturday is Spring Fling — a giant school fundraiser — hope to see you there!)
- Support Measure B — send me a note if you want to get involved in volunteering
- Attend School Board Meetings. Results from the community survey will likely be shared at the meeting on March 19th, and there will be a “Town Hall” meeting on March 26th specifically targeted to parents to give their feedback about priorities in the District, ask questions, etc. There may be additional town hall meetings as well — I’ll keep you all posted on dates. See the San Carlos School Board calendar for meeting days and times.
As I mentioned in last night’s meeting, that despite all of the current pain, if we come together as a community and work hard, I am optimistic we will come out of this crisis and preserve the vast majority of what makes the San Carlos School District deliver an excellent education for all of our children.
